The "Middle East and Terrorism" Blog was created in order to supply information about the implication of Arab countries and Iran in terrorism all over the world. Most of the articles in the blog are the result of objective scientific research or articles written by senior journalists.

From the Ethics of the Fathers: "He [Rabbi Tarfon] used to say, it is not incumbent upon you to complete the task, but you are not exempt from undertaking it."

Sunday, January 10, 2016

For the mainstream media and
human rights organizations, human rights violations are news only when
they come with a "made in Israel" sticker on them.

The Palestinian Authority (PA) has used international aid funds
to build prisons and detention centers in the West Bank where torture
has become the norm.

Dr. Ammar Dwaik, Director General of the Independent Commission
for Human Rights, a Palestinian group, revealed that his group received
782 complaints regarding torture -- 168 in the West Bank and 614 in the
Gaza Strip.

Both Hamas and the PA each fears that in a free election it could
lose some of its power. Why hold an election if you are not sure about
the results?

The Palestinian Authority and Hamas are torturing Palestinians. Still.

The two Palestinian governments, the Palestinian Authority (PA) in
the West Bank and Hamas in the Gaza Strip, are both major violators of
human rights. Assaults on public freedoms and crackdowns on political
rivals are just the first chapters of a very long story.

Yet this narrative does not appeal to the international community,
especially the mainstream media and human rights organizations in the
West. For them, human rights violations are news only when they come
with a "made in Israel" sticker on them.

Yet their obsession with Israel might just kill the Palestinians.
Particularly at risk are those who daily put their lives on the line to
halt Hamas and PA violence against their own people.

The Palestinian Authority has used international funds to build
prisons and detention centers in the West Bank where torture has become
the norm. And Hamas, which in 2007 seized control over the Gaza Strip,
transformed the area into a radical Islamist emirate with a startling
disregard for human rights and public freedoms.

The Independent Commission for Human Rights (ICHR), a Palestinian
group that seeks to promote "inherent values of justice, equality and
human rights," reports a dramatic rise over the past two years in the
number of complaints about torture in Palestinian prisons run by Hamas
and the PA.

Dr. Ammar Dwaik, Director General of ICHR, revealed
that his group received 782 complaints regarding torture -- 614 in the
Gaza Strip and 168 in the West Bank. Dwaik noted, however, that the
large number of complaints does not necessarily indicate a "big
violation" of human rights. Dwaik explained that the torture inflicted
upon detained Palestinians by Hamas and PA investigators during
interrogations is related to the absence of advanced equipment. "They
have to rely mainly on extracting confessions (by force)," he said.

Dwaik means that Palestinian security services lack modern
technological tools that could facilitate their work, such as the
ability to conduct DNA tests or eavesdropping. That is why interrogators
have to resort to violence and torture sometimes to extract confessions
from suspects.

Dr.
Ammar Dwaik (center), Director General of the Independent Commission
for Human Rights, reports a dramatic rise over the past two years in the
number of complaints about torture in Palestinian prisons run by Hamas
and the Palestinian Authority. (Image source: ICHR)

Reporting that the number of complaints about torture in the Gaza
Strip had sharply increased in 2014 and 2015, Dwaik also blamed economic
hardship for the grave human rights violations. He noted the anger and
frustration of security officials in the Gaza Strip, many of whom have
not received salaries for months. Still, he added, this does not justify
torture.

Dwaik also stated that the ICHR received complaints about the
detention by the Palestinian Authority and Hamas of 35 Palestinian
journalists in 2015. At least another 15 Palestinians were summoned for
interrogation or briefly detained for posting controversial comments on
social media, especially Facebook.

In recent years the ICHR has made some progress toward raising
awareness of human rights among the Palestinian security forces,
according to Dr. Dwaik. Yet this progress is likely to be a drop in the
proverbial bucket until the international community and media start
showing serious interest in the human rights abuses perpetrated by Hamas
and the PA.

These undemocratic and repressive regimes have proven themselves
utterly incapable of mustering even a minimal degree of tolerance for
dissent.

Hamas and the Palestinian Authority also deprive Palestinians of
freedom of expression and freedom of the press. In Hamas- and PA-run
areas, the right to hold free and fair elections is a dream. For an
entire decade, Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza Strip have been
unable to vote for a new parliament and president. Neither Hamas nor the
Palestinian Authority desires such elections, each for excellent
reasons of its own.

Each side fears that in a free election it could lose some of its
power. Why hold an election if you are not sure about the results?

In addition, how can the elections be fair and free when the two parties are cracking down on each other's supporters?

For both of these regimes, the status quo works. Hamas has within its
clutch the entire Gaza Strip, while the Palestinian Authority is
sitting pretty in the West Bank, under the protection of the Israel
Defense Forces. As every Palestinian child knows, whither the IDF goes,
so goes the Palestinian Authority.

Sixty years of failed leadership: that is the true Palestinian tragedy.

Needed desperately: scrutiny of Palestinian society by international
media and human rights groups -- beginning with a good look Palestinian
prisons -- to jump-start a Palestinian street intifada against its true
oppressors, its leaders. Anyone stepping up?